A Microsoft Addition For systemd 246 Exposes Host OS Information To Containers

[waitman]

I read this article and decided to install Alpine Linux. sayonara systemd.

[NotMine999]

I wonder which 3-letter spy agency asked (arm-twisted) M$ to develop and insert this feature?

I thought containers are supposed to be neutral environments as far the underlying hardware is concerned when viewed from the perspective of the containerized OS.

[NotMine999]

Is there any possibility at all that this is not some sort of deep state conspiracy but merely a Microsoft Engineer attempting to ensure that containers running on Azure infrastructure can take advantage of Azure-specific features as necessary?

And FWIW, the feature is optional and can be turned off. It's merely meant to be a standard, controlled way to read (static) information about the host OS release.

(source)

Perhaps M$ should fork SystemDeath into a M$ version that is compatible with their goals for Azure? Then M$ will not have to pollute upstream with their specific needs.

If there's one thing I've learned about systemd and code developed by Red Hat it's this:

"It might be optional now, but don't count on it remaining optional in the future."

Kinda reminds you of that quote by Darth Vader about changing the terms of the deal and praying that Darth Vader does not change them again.

[kaidenshi]

I read this article and decided to install Alpine Linux. sayonara systemd.

I don't think Alpine is quite desktop-ready yet, though it's getting there. It's great for its intended purpose though. I suggest giving Void Linux a try, its package manager is great and it uses runit as the init and supervisor. It doesn't split packages quite as aggressively as Alpine, which makes it less frustrating to use as a workstation OS.

[kaidenshi]

If there's one thing I've learned about systemd and code developed by Red Hat it's this:

"It might be optional now, but don't count on it remaining optional in the future."

Don't forget their response to "my system is hanging at boot and at shutdown, waiting on a service that is stuck in a loop": "NOTABUG/WONTFIX"

[waitman]

I installed Linux 5.7.8 and Gnome 3.36.4 and haven't noticed any issues with Alpine Linux. It seems to work as a desktop operating system. It is running wayland

I presume AppImages won't work because they are built against glibc but that's not a dealbreaker for me. What was frustrating for you?

[tenplus1]

I have a feeling that OpenRC will become more popular with advanced users the more that systemd is added to in this fashion.

[NotMine999]

Don't forget their response to "my system is hanging at boot and at shutdown, waiting on a service that is stuck in a loop": "NOTABUG/WONTFIX"

Or the default systemd shutdown timers (on Debian Buster & Bullseye, at least) that take ALMOST FOREVER to stop a signed out desktop unless you manually change them to something sane, like 30 seconds.

[kaidenshi]

I installed Linux 5.7.8 and Gnome 3.36.4 and haven't noticed any issues with Alpine Linux. It seems to work as a desktop operating system. It is running wayland

I presume AppImages won't work because they are built against glibc but that's not a dealbreaker for me. What was frustrating for you?

Pretty much what I said above, aggressively splitting packages makes it annoying when trying to build a desktop OS out of it. I get the reason why they do it and I think it's a great way to make a minimal installation without pulling in a lot of cruft.

[kaidenshi]

Or the default systemd shutdown timers (on Debian Buster & Bullseye, at least) that take ALMOST FOREVER to stop a signed out desktop unless you manually change them to something sane, like 30 seconds.

I bring this up whenever someone pulls out the "but systemd is so much faster to boot up!" No, no it isn't. Alpine boots to login in a couple of seconds, Void in less than 7 seconds to a full KDE desktop for me. Meanwhile Debian sits...and sits...and sits on stalled processes that systemd should background and continue with the boot up sequence, but it doesn't without manual intervention and tweaking. Ten years is a damn long time for a critical piece of software to remain in a pre-alpha stage of stability, but here we are.